sewing space, also known as: you can't keep cutting where you eat

I have been sewing significantly more these past couple months. now that I have found a few "genres" that inspire me (shoulder/handbags and all things that fall under the category of baby shower gift), I can't seem to stop. which is fantastic; yay! a hobby I am actually maintaining! however. I need to get serious regarding where I work. sewing in the dining room basically blows. my big, courageous plan is to try and make room for my sewing self in the downstairs guest room, while still keeping the room a guest room. tricky. very tricky. any ideas? I am looking for ikea type inspiration (cheap but also full of good organization ideas). to get this party started, I have pulled a few inspirational images I found online:

I am digging the simple uniformity of this room. and the double desk. love all the shelving too. problem: way too much space; I am literally getting a corner. other problem: feels stuffy.

(spaceplanner)

this one might be my favorite. there is very little not to love. like the high table, but need it bigger still to lay out fabric for cutting and when sewing.

(beautiful inspirations)

I adore this one because it looks like someone actually works here. I am a big fan of the metal baskets (remind me of my summer days in the rice pool locker room), however I worry the fabric might get dusty if stacked in there. would *love* to avoid plastic containers at all costs though.

(country living)

this is just smart and cute.

(vanilla joy)

any inspiring ideas?

frenchy

while shopping with my sister this weekend in chicago, she took me to the greatest fabric store (at least in the chicagoland area): the needle shop. I cannot say enough about the fabric in this sweet little bucktown shop. I perused and found this joel dewberry fabric to replace one of the rocket ship pillows in our living room (death by puppy chewing frenzy):

(media in breeze)

I also happened upon a badass bag hanging in the corner of the shop. it was a frenchy from amy butler. and I am going to make one.

I will use joel dewberry's annie in corn yellow for the bulk of the bag.

and etsuko furuya-kokka's school bus in black for the top and possibly the interior pockets.

I've never made a bag before. I can hardly handle a pillow; we will see how this goes. but I am eager to get started on my new project. if I can pull this off, I will consider the "Master of the Universe" title all mine. my goal is thanksgiving, I will show you when I finish.

sew: a needle pulling thread

well, my sister has motivated me. I want to start quilting and in order to that, I need to better learn to sew. I was thinking smaller projects are key and at my cousin beth's house this weekend I fell madly in love with her beds and decided the key is in the pillow. not too many, but enough. especially for those of us still lacking a headboard.

therefore, I bought 4 yards of this tanya whelan fabric:

fabricworm

to turn our bed:


into this (and by this, I only mean the tall square pillows in the very back, almost serving as a headboard ... ish):

source

"a" is for apron and anna

my little sister, anna, is quite the little crafty one. she mastered knitting last year and is now taking on sewing. as of late, she is enamored with apron projects and got the book a is for apron, by Nathalie Mornu, for christmas.

she completed her first project last night. now I am smitten too. how cute is this?